Munchen to Wien

We left our fancy hotel and set off for Austria. We stopped for lunch at a rest area near Salzburg which had a great view of the mountains and valleys.






We visited Mauthausen concentration camp after having a brief talk from Martin (our driver) about the Holocaust. Eleni couldn't talk about it because it's too upsetting. Firstly we watched a video which talked about the concentration camp and the treatment that people got. It finished with interviews with some people who survived the camp and soldiers that liberated the camp. There were some photos which made the horror more realistic. It's hard to believe that the guards could treat other humans so badly.













We then went on a guided tour of the camp itself (guided by a portable tape deck) and saw the barracks where the prisoners slept in cramped conditions - imagine 3 to a narrow timber-plank bed, which barely fitted one! We also walked to the steps which led down to the quarry, as this was a "work to death" camp.













Once checked into the hotel in Vienna, we took a drive through the city and around the ring road. From this route you get to see many of the impressive buildings and sites of Vienna. It was great seeing them by night too, beautifully lit.





Dinner was beer soup!, pork schnitzel, potato salad, and strudel for dessertl The beer soup was ok. Not as weird as expected. The schnitzel was good, but it shouldn't be a hard meal to make.

On the way back to the hotel, we were surprised with a visit to Prater amusement park which runs every summer in Vienna. There was go-karting, dodgems, a giant ferris wheel, roller coasters, a tower of terror and much more.